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Presidential campaign heads list of Ohio’s top stories

School shooting, 3 new casinos, summer storm also made news in 2012

Request to buy this photoBrooke L
aVALLEY |
DISPATCHPresident Barack Obama crisscrossed the state in his successful bid to win re-election on Nov. 6. In the end, Obama won Ohio by 107,000 votes, with a strong showing in the state’s urban centers, to capture its 18 electoral votes.

Request to buy this photoMark Duncan | Associated PressChardon High School in Geauga County was rocked Feb. 27 by the shooting deaths of three students and the wounding of three others in the school. A teenager was charged.

Request to buy this photoTom Dodge | DISPATCHThe opening of Hollywood Casino Columbus on Oct. 8 gave the state’s gamblers a total of three casinos to test their luck. One more will open in Cincinnati in the spring.

Request to buy this photoEamon Queeney | DISPATCHLinemen worked for weeks to repair damage after a powerful summer storm left millions of Ohioans without electricity during a heat wave in late June and early July.

Request to buy this photoKyle Robertson | DispatchHead coach Urban Meyer and his football Buckeyes compiled a 12-0 record but couldn’t go to a bowl game because of NCAA sanctions.

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Associated Press • Monday December 31, 2012 4:04 AM

A list of the top 10 stories of 2012 from the Ohio Associated Press, as voted on by member
newspapers and broadcasters throughout the state:

1. The 2012 presidential election campaign targeted Ohio, with President Barack Obama going on
to clinch the state’s electoral votes and win re-election. Obama, Republican opponent Mitt Romney
and their surrogates logged dozens of visits to Ohio throughout the fall and spent millions
blanketing the state’s airwaves with ads. In the end, Obama won Ohio by 107,000 votes with a strong
showing in the state’s urban centers to capture its 18 electoral votes.

2. Three students were killed and three wounded in a shooting at Chardon High School in
northeastern Ohio. Prosecutors say 17-year-old T.J. Lane admitted taking a .22-caliber pistol to
the school and firing at students in the cafeteria on Feb. 27. A deputy sheriff testified that Lane
was wearing a T-shirt bearing the word
killer when he was found. Lane, now 18, is being tried as an adult and has filed an
insanity plea. His trial is set for Jan. 14.

3. The casino industry arrived in Ohio with gambling halls opening in Cleveland, Toledo and
Columbus. One more will open in Cincinnati in the spring. Ohio voters approved the casinos in 2009
to raise revenue and create jobs. The first three opened with great fanfare, and millions have
visited since — although the latest numbers show revenue continuing to level off six months down
the road. Some Ohio cities have asked for citizen input on how to spend the extra tax revenue.

4. Millions of Ohioans were left without power as storms struck the state amid a heat wave in
late June and early July. As many as three people died, and damage was estimated at more than $433
million as Obama declared a federal emergency in the state. Some households were without
electricity for weeks as the extreme heat and more storms in July hampered the efforts of
power-company crews. It was the worst storm damage in Ohio since the state was battered by the
remnants of Hurricane Ike in 2008 and the third-costliest disaster ever here.

5. Expectations were sky-high as Ohio native Urban Meyer came home to coach the Ohio State
football team. He and the 2012 squad — led by quarterback Braxton Miller — delivered in a big way
with a perfect 12-0 season. However, Meyer and the team are sitting home this December as the
Buckeyes serve a bowl ban as the result of a cash-for-tattoos scandal involving players that cost
former coach Jim Tressel his job. The team wasn’t eligible to play for the conference title,
either, but was ranked third in the AP top 25 heading into the bowl season.

6. The first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, died, prompting tributes and memorial
services.

7. A teen was sentenced to life in prison and his adult mentor awaits trial in the killings of
three men lured with fake Craigslist job offers.

8. Ohio drivers were banned from sending text messages from behind the wheel under a new law
that includes stricter rules for teen drivers.

9. Gov. John Kasich imposed a regional moratorium on deep-injection wells after a New Year’s Eve
quake struck Youngstown, and state lawmakers passed well regulations.

10. Sixteen Amish were convicted of hate crimes for cutting the hair and beards of fellow
Amish.